Reggie White's second thoughts about athletic evangelizing (Salon)

[DinahMoeHum]

Link: (need day pass)
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/03/reggie_white/print.html

(PLEASE NOTE: This was NOT, repeat, NOT a "deathbed confession". This article stems from an interview he made a while ago, an interview that aired on The NFL Network on December 22. Who was to know what would follow on December 26 ??)

(snip)
...it is so interesting, and...important, to pay attention to the dramatically different stance on religion that White developed after his playing career, which came to public attention just before his death on Dec. 26. Since his retirement from the NFL in 2000, White had disavowed his role as the exemplar of athletic evangelizing and much of what passes for religious devotion in sports culture.

In an interview aired on the NFL Network four days before his death -- part of an hour-long program on religion in pro football -- White talked about his new direction. The man who once claimed that God told him to leave Philadelphia and sign with Green Bay, stated, "Sometimes when I look back on my life, there are a lot of things I said God said. I realize he didn't say nothing. It was what Reggie wanted to do. I do feel the Father ... gave me some signals ... but you won't hear me anymore saying God spoke to me about something -- unless I read something in scripture and I know."

In the interview, White also rejected a practice at the very heart of the athletic Christian movement, one he did much to popularize: the perceived imperative for the star athlete to use his stature to spread the Christian message. That was one of the founding goals of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes when it formed a half century ago, and it remains a major thrust of athletic Christianity today, acted out every time a player points to the heavens after a touchdown or home run, credits Jesus in an interview, or puts his fame to work in front of church congregations and youth gatherings. "I was an entertainer," White said. "People seemed to want to be entertained rather than taught."
(snip)

much more...

:smoke:

[Verve]

1. So he finally saw the light......

"Sometimes when I look back on my life, there are a lot of things I said God said. I realize he didn't say nothing. It was what Reggie wanted to do. I do feel the Father ... gave me some signals ... but you won't hear me anymore saying God spoke to me about something"

[Ian David]

3. He finally saw SOME of the light...

<snip>

He even proselytized to those he was beating on the field; he was known to warn opposing linemen, "Jesus coming, I hope you're ready," before proceeding to demolish them on his way to the quarterback.

<snip>

Just four days before his death, "White said he felt 'prostituted' by those who encouraged him to capitalize on his football fame to promote religion. It is hard to imagine a more blunt and damning repudiation than what White issued."

<snip>

The retired White was repentant about his infamous address before the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1998. ESPN's Andrea Kremer reports that White told her in a recent, as-yet-unaired interview that he regretted the disparaging stereotypes he had made about various ethnic groups.

But it was not clear from Kremer's reports whether White felt repentant about the ugly anti-gay remarks he had included in the ill-informed address.

In the immediate aftermath of the speech, White had been somewhat apologetic about the ethnic remarks. But he stubbornly refused to back away from his blatant homophobia.

Had his recent journey led him to a more enlightened position on homosexuality? Given White's record on the issue, it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.

<snip>

Reggie White was on a promising path. It is tragic that death blocked him just as he was getting started.

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About the writer
Tom Krattenmaker is a Philadelphia-area writer. He is working on a book about Christianity in professional sports.
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http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/03/reggie_white/print.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. Believers have called that...

"Maturity in their faith". It is the application of spiritual discernment.

Would that more would shut their mouths and grow in their beliefs and their knowledge regarding them.

Would that I could fly to the moon by flapping my arms, as well. :eyes: